In the Shoes of English Language Learners: Using Baseball to Help Pre-service Teachers Understand Some Complexities of Language in Mathematics Instruction

Abstract

This article discusses qualitative data collected from elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) who participated in an activity that uses the context of baseball to highlight some of the complexities of language in mathematics instruction. Through this activity, PSTs moved from a more discrete vocabulary orientation for teaching mathematics towards an embedded discourse approach, broadened their views on whom they classify as an English language learner (ELL), and developed empathy for the meaning-making struggles of ELLs in mathematics classrooms.